Projectile.



PATENTBD AUG. 16, 1904.

G. W. BALL. PROJEGTILE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12. 1900.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

No. 767,920. PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904 v G. W. BALL. PROJEGTILE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.12, 1900. N0 MODEL. 1

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

G. W. BALL.

PROJEGTILE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1900.

N0 MODEL.

No.76Z920. PATENTED AUG.16,190& G.W.BALL

PROJBGTILE.

- APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1900. N0 MODEL. 4 SHEBTSSHBET 4.

w -IIIIIIImMIIIiIIIIIIIWIIIIIiIIIIIWII NirnD STATES Batented August 16,1904.

PROUECTILE.

SPEOIFIGATZON forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,920, dated August16, 1904:. Application filed September 12, 1900. Serial No. 29,820. (Nomodel.)

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Projectiles forOrdnance; and I do hereby-declare the following to be afull, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which lt'appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in high-power projectiles forordnance; and the object of the invention is the provision of atprojectile in which the enormous loss of range and velocity due to thefriction between the projectile and the walls of the gun, the subsequentrocking-or pounding of the shot, the faulty application of thepropelling force, the hard and unyielding nature of the gas-check inpresent'use, and theabscnce of any approximation to perfect lubricationof the rubbingsurfaces are remedied."

The shells recently adopted by the United States Government appear todepend for'proteetion entirely upon asubdivision of the charge withoutany attempt at a construction of either a shell or gun which shallrender impossible such conditions as give rise to the danger ofpremature explosions, against which it is so necessary to guard.

In the gun itself I propose no change; but,

4 as will be shown, I have provided a shell which can be used in eitherrifled or smooth bore guns with either ordinary or high explosivecharges, which will carry with safety any charge which is safe to handleand load, will make it safe to handle, load, and transport loaded shellsfar more sensitive and dangerone than any heretofore used, and not onlythis, but will incidentally carry farther with more force, greateraccuracy, and with less damage to the walls of the gun than is now doneor can be done by any means at present known to ordnance.

In the attainment of the end proposed that is to say, the safe transitof the shell .through the bore until clear of the muzzle of thegun-several devices of novel character are combined and made tocooperate.

cooperating devices may be broadly stated as- These follows: (a) Theapplication of the propelling forces both at'thefront and rear of theprojectile, moving therewith and keeping up a sustained pressure to themuzzle of the gun and in such manner as to hold the projectile away fromthe walls of the bore'ina powerful elastic grasp, so that what is knownas rocking or pounding of the shotis rendered impossible and theprojectile issues from the muzzle of the gun perfectly centered. (7))The substitution for the ordinary solid cold-metal gas-check ofanelastic gaseous wiper fortified on one edge by a highlypresent animpassable barrier to the powdergas seeking to escape without theexpenditure of wasted forcec (c) The reduction of friction between the";projectile and the walls of the gun, due to other causes, by theinsertion between the projectile and the bore of the gun ofantifriction-bdls, the latter to travel in the grooves of the gun, ifrifled, or against the gun-walls if the bore be smooth. ((2?) Thedeadening of the shock and danger of jar on the, projectile by coatingor incasing the vessels or chambers containing the explosive with aninflammable substance in other respects suitable and in consistencyresembling pitch. (0) The provision for an automatic lubrication of thewhole gun interior at every discharge with a composition of a nature re-'sultlng in a short time in the coating of the heated softened tube orband, which together Figure 1 is a central longitudinal sectionthrough-the bore of a rifled gun and through my improved form of shellmounted therein. Fig. 2 is an enlarged section through theexplosive-chamber of the shell. Fig. 3 isan enlarged sectionsimilar toFig. 2, but showing a modified arrangement of the cells containroo ingthe .explosive within the chamber. Fig. 4is an enlarged section takenlongitudinally of the shell and transversely of the hollow flattenedwiper and the tubular gas-check. Fig. 4 is a partially-sectional viewillustrating a modified form of gas-check, the latter consisting of asolid band instead 'of a hollow tube, as shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 5 isan-en larged section taken on the line 5 5 in Fig. 1 looking in thedirection of the arrow. Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6 6 inFig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 7 is a section takenon the line 7 7 in Figs. 1 and 9 looking in the direction of the arrow.Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line 8 8 in Fig. 1 looking in thedirection of the arrow. Fig. 9 is an enlarged elevation, partly insection, of the rear end of the projectile, showing the spring-bufferand the lubricant rear chamber. Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of oneof the ball-bearings. Fig. 11 is a plan view or elevation of one of theball-bearings, and Fig. 12 is a View in elevation of the entireprojectile.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the iron wall of thehigh-explosives chamber 2. The wall 1 is in the form of a hollowcylinder in external diameter about one inch less than the bore of thegun from which it is to be fired, which diflerence in diameter gives tothe auxiliary powder-chamber 9 a sufficient capacity. The purpose ofthis auxiliary powder-chamber is not so much .in itself to propel theshell as to reinforce the main powder charge and by accompanying theshell prevent its failure by the way through the barrel of the gun.

3 is a stout iron plate or cap forming the base of the shell in diametervery nearly equal to the bore of the gun and connected with the hollowcylindrical portion 1 by a screw-threaded joint or any other suitablejoint, as seen in the drawings.

4 represents a much thicker and heavier cap or plate of diameter thesame as plate or cap 3 and connected to the cylindrical portionl by ascrew-threaded joint in like manner as plate or cap 3 for the purpose,as in the case of cap 3, of permitting the 'high-explosive chamber 2 tobe filled, the parts being fitted together after the filling of theshell.

5 represents a steel ogival-shaped head or nose of the shell. which isconnected to the cap 4 by a screw-threaded joint, as shown.

6 represents a narrow ring ofmetal located about the cylindrical casing1 about midway between its ends, and unlike the caps 3 and 4 this ringis permanently fixed to the surface of the casing 1- by being cast solidwith the shell-wall1 ,preferably by means of offsets con necting theshell and ring; but the ring may be permanently connected to the shellby means of screws or rivets.

The space between the ring or band 6 and the outer wall 1 of the shellshould be suflicient to allow free storage of the powder in theauxiliary powder-chamber 9, above referred to, and to permit the passagealso of the fuses or matches used to ignite the powder in this auxiliarychamber, as hereinafter described.

7 represents a band about one-fourth of an inch thick, which encirclesthe projectile near its front end, as seen most clearly in Figs. 1 and4. This metal band is secured to the rear of the cap or plate 4 and isperforated extensively or may be of a sieve-like construc- -tion wovenof very stout steel wire having openings or perforations 7, and aboutthis perforated band is mounted a broad flattened hollow metal tube orband 10, preferably of copper or some other elastic metal, the-saidhollow band being in the nature of a seamless tube. This hollow tubularband is intended to contain a fl uid--for instance, waterwhich maybecome vaporized under heat causing the tube to be expanded against theWalls of the gun, as hereinafter morefullydescribed. About thisperforated band 7 is also mounted a hollow tubular ring 11' or a solidmetallic band 11', as shown in Figs-4 and 4". In case of the hollow tubel1 being used this tube is preferably filled with an inflammablematerial, which when ignited causes the expansion of the tube and theconsequent close pressure thereof against the walls of the gun and formsan effective gas-check, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

8 represents a thin outer envelop of sheet metal, preferably of tin orcopper perforated extensively at uniform intervals, and this sheet-metalenvelop is attached at one end to the base-plate or cap 3 and to theperforated band 7 and also to the central ring or band 6, forming withthe wall of the shell 1, which it entirely surrounds and incloses, ashallow annular chambernamel v, the auxiliary powder-chamber 9abovereferred to. The length of this auxiliary powder-chamber 9 isapproximately that of the high-explosives chamber 2, which it completelysurrounds. -For this thin surrounding envelop 8 perforated sheet copperor tin is preferable to iron for two reasons--namely, iron thick enoughto resist the outward pressure of the powder in the auxiliary chamber 9would occupy too much space, and, secondly, no solid envelop of any kindis desired, the perforated envelop being necessary to allow the gasfrom'the auxiliary powder-chamber 9 to enter and fill the annular spacebetween the shell and the wall of the gun, and thus be not only in aposition to deliver a forward thrust against the expansible tube orwiper 10 and the expansible tube 11 or the band 11 when the gun isfired, but by its side thrust'againstthe gun-wall to hold the entireprojectile firmly to the axial line of the gun.

' The perforations 7 in the band 7 are for the purpose of permitting thedeflagration of the plastic inflammable material 7 which is interposedbetween the perforated band 7 and the adjacent portions of theshell-wall land cap-plate 4, which are Surrounded by the said perforatedband. The purpose of this interposed plastic inflammable material is, aswill hereinafter more fully appear, to provide means for heating thehollow tubular band to cause its expansion against the walls of the gun.

The fiattened tubular band 10 is secured to the perforated band 7 bybeing brazed thereon and is preferably countersunk into the surface ofthe said band 7, as shown.

The purpose of the hollow tube 11 or the band 11 is to reinforce thetube 10, and this hollow tube 11 or solid band 11 is also secured to theperforated band 7 by being brazed thereto, as in the case of theflattenedtu'bular band 10. If the solid band 11 be used, it shouldpreferably be half-round or rounde upon its outer surface and fiatupon'its inner surface, as shown, in order that it may more securelygrasp the band 7. The hollow tube 11 is entirely closed, except for asuitable number of small perforations through which I enter and,terminate a series of quick-matches 25, as seen most clearly in Fig.4.By means of these quick-matches, which will hereinafter be referred to,the composition within the tube 11 is ignited and the heating andexpansion of the tube effected.

7 represents a narrow band or ring of asbestos or other non-combustiblematerial interposed between the forward end of the auxiliarypowder-chamber 9 and the'infiainmable plastic material 7 for the purposeof preventing the explosion of the auxiliary powderchamber at the timethe inflammable plastic material 7 is ignited.

12 12, &c., are a number of small antifriction-balls of steel, vitrifiedfire-clay, or other material of such size and number and so disposedaround the plates 3 and 4 and the intermediate narrow plate 6 as toconform to the lines of the rifle-grooves of the gun, so that when thegun is discharged the balls will take and follow the grooves to themuzzle of the gun with comparatively little friction. Theseantifriction-balls 12 are seated in shallow sockets provided for theirreception in the surfaces of the bands 3, 4, and 6 and are retained inposition by superimposed perforated narrow copper, brass, or othersuitable metallic bands 13. (Better shown in detail in Figs. 10 and 11.)I

Inside the explosives-chamber 2, 14 14, &c., represent small vessels ofhighly-combustible material, each being packed full of the explosiveused and saturated with a preparation of some inflammable substance,such as a preparation of phosphorus. These vessels are packed, but nottightly, within the chamber 2, and each layer as fast as put in iscoated heavily with an inflammable plastic substance. This plasticmaterial can be inflammable to the point of explosiveness, capable bothof igniting the combustible material in the vessels 14 and of beingitself instantly ignited.

16 (seen most clearly in Figs. 1 and 2) represents a frangible vial,preferably of thin glass, set securely in the end of a small metallictube 16, which is securely sealed and closed at one end by theinflammable material 15. The vial,16 contains a chemical substance Iwhich on the breaking of the vial will ignite the inflammable material15 used in packing the vessels in the chamber 2. To insure the breakageof the vial 16 upon the projectile striking an object of suflicient sizeto impede its progress, I mount within the tube 16 a rod terminating atits forwardend in a heavy spherical knob 16*. The rod is preferablybacked with some fibrous yielding material, such as raw cotton 16*,inthe base of the tin tube 16'. In order toretain the rod 16 in itsrestrained position and avoiding the danger of accidentally explodingthe shell during handling, I provide one or more stout wires, which passdiametrically through the shell and through openings therefor inthe saidrod 16 These wires 16 are provided with loops or han' dles 16 at one endand maybe retained in position by means-of buttons 16 at their points,the buttons being readily removable to permit the withdrawal of thewires when the shell is to be loaded. The wires 16, it will beunderstood, are 'only used for the purpose of safety in handling theshell and are to be withdrawn when the shell is to be loaded. Thesewires also serve the purpose of holding the tube 16 normally in linewith the sides of the shell, preventing its displacement by thesoftening of the yielding mass contained in the chamber 2.

7 Instead of the form of vessels 14 for containing the explosivecompound shown in Fig. 2 I may use the form shown in Fig. 3, and in somerespects this form is preferable to that shown in Fig. 2. In thearrangement shown in Fig. 3, 14' 14 14 14*, &c., represent cylindricalvessels or tubes arranged concentrically within each other, thedifference in size allowing spaces for the reception of the explosivematerial. These cylindrical vessels are preferably composed of a veryinflammable material and are each coated both inside and outside withthe plastic inflammable material.

In constructing the shell the plate 4 is unscrewed from the wall 10f theshell, and the inner sides of the wall 1 and the top of the plate3 areheavily coated with theinflammable plastic material 15. The vessels 14'14 14 14, &c., are packed with the explosive material and sealed at thetop and are then coated with the plastic inflammable material &

is reached, when the tin tube 16' is inserted, the wires 16 adjusted,and the plate 4 replaced. I 16 represents ridges, preferably of paste- 5board, capable of being fixed centrally and at 4 other points to thecontinuous walls ofthe I circular chambers to hold and keep their sidesequidistant and prevent undue pressure at any one point. I Referringagain to Figs. 1 and 9, 17 represents a tin or sheet-iron tube or bandin diameter exactly equal to the base-plateS, to whichrit is firmlyattached. Close to the baseplate 3 and around the circumference of the 5band 17 is arranged a ring of small perforations 18. (See Fig. 12.) Thistube or band 17 is open at the ends and extends open toward the mainpowder charge 24 and con tains the spring and elastic buffer 21, the 2elastic plug 19, inclosed withina covering of asbestos cloth 20, aboutwhich the spring 21 is wound. This buffer'is seated on a circular base22 and is capped by a circular plate 23 of somewhat less diameter:

18 is a circular sack of prepared moistureproof brown paper or otherfrangible material, not either necessarily inflammable or -ex. plosive,fitting closely inside the base of the pan or band 17 and-stuffed withsome lubri- 3 eating composition, such as graphite, asbestos, orsoapstone in state of flotation, and paraflin. The force ofthe explosioncauses the lubricating material to exude through the opens ings 18 intocontact with the wallsof the gun. For naval use the pan or band 17 andits contents, the springrand elastic bufler may be loose and detachable,so that they will fall r clear of the muzzle of the gun a few yardsaway; but in use on land, where by a possibil- 4 ity'it might becomenecessary to fire over the Y heads of men, these parts should besecurely attached to the projectileat its base, so as to accompany thelatter in its flight;

l8 (seen most clearly in Figs. 1 and 12) representsa front lubricator inthe form of a collar and composed of a paper or other explosive orcombustible envelop which is filled with a lubricating substance similarto that contained in the rear lubricator 18, before de- 5 scribed, andthis collar 18 is hung, as shown, Y upon the front end of theprojectile. 18 indicates a series of friction-matches, so arrangedaround and secured to the outer "edge of the collar 18 as to be certainto ignite by friction i5- against the walls of the gun as the projectile1 passes through. The ignition of these friction-ma'tches causing thebursting of the' en-' f velop 18 its contents are shed over the bore ofthe gun as soon as the shell starts to move. 9 This part of thelubricating apparatus need be used but once in an engagement, inasmuchas, this use of it imparts to the surface of the bore of 'the gun aprotective lubricating noncorrosive coati g in advance of the principal.5 24 represents the main powder charge.

represents the lanyard or other detonator by which the fuses or matches25 and 26 are fired.

25 25 25 are quick-matches of any suitable Y number which are instantlyfired by the lanyard 24, and these instantly fire not only theinflammable paste 7 interposed between the band 7 and the cap-plate 4,as hereinbefore referred to, but they also ignite the contents of thetube 11*, in which they enter and terminate, as seen in Figs. 1 and4. Y

26 represents slow-matches which are fired by the lanyard 24 at the sametime as the quick-matches 25 25, but are so regulated as to delaythefiring of the quick-matches 27 27' for a predetermined number ofseconds.

27 and 27 are quick-matches which when at last ignited by theslow-matches 26 fire simultaneously the charge in the auxiliary chamber9,

to which the matches 27 27 lead, and the charge in the mainpowder-chamber 24, to which the match 27 leads. The quick-matches 25(indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l) are carried through openings inthe base-cap 3am] along grooves or depressions 8', formed in the envelop8, or, if preferred, other suitable tubula-r ways may be separate fromthe envelop 8 and soldered thereto. These quick-matches 25 lead, as hasjust been stated, forward through these grooves 8 to the inflammablepaste 7 andto the hollow tube 11, where they terminate, as seen mostclearly in Fig. 4. This manner of leading the quick-matches 25 for-'ward avoids the danger of the auxiliary powder-chamber 9 beingfiredthereby. The slowmatches 27, which fire the auxiliary powderchamber9, lead directlyinto this chamber, as

shown by the black lines in Fig. 1, and terminate at intervalsthroughout the auxiliary powder-chamber. v p p The match 27 leadsdirectly to the main powder charge 24. and by this arrangement it willbe seen that the main powder charge and the auxiliarypowder charge arefired simultaneously, and a short time after the expansion of thegas-check is effected.

The operation of firing the projectile is as follows: The lanyard 24being connected not directly with the propelling charge 24, but with thetwo systems of matches 25 and with 27 27 through the match 26, theeffect of pulling the lanyard will be to fire simultaneously thequick-matches 25, some half a dozen in number, and the single slow-match26,

Y which controls the half-dozen quick-matches 27 and the singlequick-match 27 Of these two sets of matches the former being quickinstantaneously fires the inflammable material I 7 at the front of theshell, which material bursting into flame plays through the open-V 7 ing7- against the bottomof the seamless thin tube 10 and also against thebottom of the wire band 11. In the case of the tube 11 beingused,

which tube contains inflammable materiaha number of these quick-matches25 lead into this tube and ignite the material contained therein. Theignition of the inflammable material 7 causes the generation of steam inthe tube and the consequent expansion of the tube. The heat also causesthe softening ofthe wire tube 11. Upon the expiration of thepredetermined number of secondssay four, more or lessnecessary for theaccomplishment of the-processes above referred to the slowmatch 26,which has heretofore been slowly burning. ignites the half-dozenquick-match es leading into the auxiliary powder-chamber 9 and thesingle quick-match leading to the main propelling charge 24:, from whichit is evident -that the main and auxiliary powder charges 2 1 and 9 areignited simultaneously and 'a short time after the ignition of the bodyof inflammable material. The main powder charge 24 operating upon thebase of the shell through the spring-bufler 19 and 20 tends to startthedrilled through the base of the plate 3 and connecting these twochambers the gas in chamber 9 has an elastic footing in the gas that isforming in the chamber behind it.

- The expansion of the steam tube or wiper 10 and the heated wire bandllor the heated metal tube 11, as the case may be, Will form a check forthe gas from the chambers 9 and 24 sufficient to prevent their gasfrom-escaping and compel the gas to expend its energy upon the shell.The heated wire band 11 or the heated tube 11, according to which isused, will be cutinto by the grooves of the rifle-bore of the gun likecheese, and thus diminish the friction engendered by the impinging ofhard cold metal, such as is com-- monly used for gas-checks, and bytheir yielding nature will add additional security against 5 o theescape of the gases ahead of the projectile.

When the auxiliary powder-chamber 9. is ignited, the gas escapes throughthe openings in the envelop 8 and fills the annular space between theprojectile and the walls of the gun, while the openings in the envelop8, be

ing arranged at regular'intervals about the surface of the shell, allowan equal pressure in all directions, tending from all sides toward thecenter'or axial line of the bore, and not only this, but instead ofhaving to traverse a rigid and rugged path of metal the shell isafforded (as it were) circumambient envelop or cradle of gas in which itmoves through the barrel of the gun.

The balls 12 12, &c., assist in lessening the friction of theshellagainst the walls of-the gun.

The front lubricator-sack, which is placed over the forward end of theprojectile before being fired, need only be used once in an engagement,for a single use will cause the forward part'of the interior of the gunto be lubricated sufficiently for the first discharge, and the bore ofthe gun will thereafter be kept lubricated with the stone-producingcomposition by the lubricating-sack at the base of the projectile.

The action of the elements within the explosive chamber when the shellstrikes the target is as follows: It will be understood that so long asthe wires 16 16 are retained in position the detonating portion of theshell is insured,against explosion and the shell made safe to handle andtransport.

'to use the shell, the gunner strips off the buttons 16 and draws outthe wires by their loops 16 and loads the projectile. When the gun isfired and the shell in motion, the several parts of the detonatingapparatus retain their relative positions until the object aimed at isstruck, when the motion of the shell becomes suddenly arrested, theplunger 16 which is free to move longitudinally of the shell and hasbeen retained at-the rear end of its limit of movement, pitchesviolently forward, breaks the vial 16, and scatters the liquid containedtherein over the mass of highlyinflammable and explosive material surrounding it and causes the explosion of the shell.

Although I have shown and described the ball-bearings seated in bandswhich are applied to the projectile, I do not wish to limit myself tothis arrangement nor to the use of the separate bands, as it isperfectly obvious that the antifriction balls might be seated in thesurface of the projectile itself, and it is also obvious that many othermodifications in this connection, as in other parts of the invention,might be made which could be used without departing from the spirit andthe intent thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, isv

1. In a projectile for ordnance, the combination with the body of theprojectile, and the main propelling charge; charge surrounding the bodyof the projectile, the function of which is to center the projectile andassist in its propulsion from the, gun when the projectile is fired andarranged tofollow the movement thereof but to be exploded simultaneouslywith the explosion of When about IIO of an auxiliary the main propellingcharge, and means for exploding the main charge and the propellingcharge simultaneously, substantially as described.

2. In a projectile for ordnance, the combination with. the bodyof theprojectile and the an annular auxiliary powder-chamber surrounding thebody of the projectile, arranged to be fired simultaneously with thefiring of the main propelling charge; and an outer inclosing case ofthin perforated metal surrounding the saidauxiliary chamber, saidperforations being closed with-an inflammable waterproof paste,substantially as described.

3'. In a projectile for ordnance, the combination with the body of theprojectile of a gas: check comprising a closed tube containing ahighly-combustible substance surrounding the projectile; and means forigniting the substance within the inclosed tube and thereby expandingsaid tube against the walls of the gun in advance of the explosion ofthe propelling charge, substantially as described.

4. In a projectile for ordnance, the combination with the body of theprojectile of a perforated metallic band surrounding the proj ectile andinclosing a highly-inflammable plastic substance;

forated band; and means for igniting the inflammable substance inclosedwithin said perforated band' in advance of the explosion of thepropelling charge, substantially as described.

5. In a projectile for ordnance, the combi-- nation with the body of theprojectile of a perforated band surrounding the projectile andinclosing-a mass of highly-inflammable, plastic substance; a flattened,closed tubular ring seated about the said perforated band and a ring ofslightly-greater diameter also seated quick-matches connected with theinterior of said tubular ring whereby the contents thereof may beignited in advance of the explosion of the propelling charge and thering thus expanded against the Wall of the gun, substantially asdescribed.

7 The combination with a projectile, of an annular gas-check surroundingthe body thereof, a highly-combustible. substance in close contact withsaid gas-check and means for igniting said substance and therebysoftening by heat the said gas-check in advance of the discharge of theprojectile from the gun, substantially as described.

' 8. The combination with a projectile for ordnance, of a series ofballs mounted about the surface of the projectile and constitutingbearand a closed tube containing liquid surrounding and secured to thesaid perings for the projectile in its passage through the bore of thegun, substantially as described. 9. The combination Withaprojectile forordnance, of a series of balls seated in the surface thereof, andarranged to take and follow the rifle-grooves of the gun in the passageof the projectile through the bore, substantially as described. I

10. In an explosive projectile, the combination with the inclosing shellor case; of a number of separate segregating vessels ofhighly-combustible material containing portions of the explosive charge,and each coated with and surrounded by ahighly-inflammable viscouscomposition serving to deaden shocks on the explosive charge, andserving to insure the rapid ignition of the charge, sub-' stantially asdescribed.

11. In an explosive projectile, the combination with an inclosing shellor casing; of 'a number of separate segregated vessels ofhighly-combustible material containing portions-of the explosive charge,and each coated with and surrounded by a highly-inflammable viscouscomposition serving to deaden shocks on the explosive charge; and afrangible vial mounted centrally of the said explosive charge andcontaining a liquid adapted to ignite the charge upon the breaking ofthe said frangible vial, substantially as described.

'12. In an explosive projectile, the combination with an inclosing shellor case; of a plurality of concentric cylindrical vessel's containingwithin their intervening spaces portions of the explosive charge andcoated with and surrounded by a highly-inflammable viscous compositionserving to deaden shocks on the charge and serving to insure the rapidignition thereof, substantially as described.

13. In an explosiveproject-ile, the combination with the explosivecharge; of a tube mounted longitudinally thereof, a weighted bodymounted Within the said tube and capable of longitudinal movementtherein; a frangible vial containing a liquid of a nature such as tocause an explosion of the charge when communicated thereto; and a wirepassing diametrically through the body of the project ile and engagingsaid weighted body retainmg the latter in a fixed position, the saidwi're being removable when the projectile isto be loaded in the gun,substantially as described.

'14. The combination with a projectile for ordnance, of a combustibleenvelop containing a mass of lubricating material, so arranged inconjunction with the projectile as to beconsumed by the explosion of thepropelling charge and thus having its contents distributed over theinterior of the bore when the gun is tired, substantially as described.

- 15. The combination with a projectile for ordnance, of an elasticbuffer interposed between the base of the projectile and the mainpropelling charge and a space between said buffer and the base of theprojectile adapted to contain a lubricating composition, substantiallyas described.

16. In an explosive projectile, the combination with the propellingcharge, and an expansible gas-check; of a set of quick-matches arrangedto cause the heating and expansion of the gas-check in advance of theexplosion of the propelling charge; and a set of slowmatches arranged toexplode the propelling charge by the same operation, substantially asdescribed.

17. 1n an explosive projectile, the combination with the main propellingcharge at the base of the projectile; an auxiliary charge surroundingthe body of the projectile; and an ex pansible gas-check; of a set ofquick-matches arranged to cause the heating and expansion of thegas-check in advance of the explosion of the propelling charge; and aset of slow- 18. The combination with an explosive projectile forordnance, of an elastic bufl'er carried upon the base of the projectile,and lubricating'means controlled by said buffer.

19. The combination with an explosive projectile, of an elastic buffercarried upon the rear end of said projectile, and a combustible ringcarried upon the nose of said projectile, and a lubricating compositionadapted to b contained within said ring.

In testimony whereof ll afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WASHINGTON BALI.

Witnesses:

Jos. H. BLACKWOOI), CLARENCE A. BA'IEMAN.

